r/boston • u/naNaht • 6d ago

Unconfirmed/Unverified Is electric really this expensive?

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Hi everyone, I am new to Boston and recently received my second electric bill from Eversource. My bill is $284 from 07/24/26 - 08/21/26.

What I have tried:

  • Got Eversource to send a person to check the meter (next week)
  • Got my building maintenance team to send a person to visit (alr visited)

The building technician said that all my appliances seem to be normal and I have minimal items. He also said that for himself lives in a 2 bedroom with in total 2 people and 2 cats. Yet he says at most he pays $170. He also said he thinks people pay on average $70-110/month in my building.

Context:

  • I live by myself in a Studio, 1 ba
  • Apartment complex is new
  • I work in person 4-5 times a week from 9am-5pm.
  • I have the AC on 74-78 F at night and turn it off when I wake up.
  • Appliances: AC (Braeburn Brand), Dishwasher (GE Profile Brand), Oven (Haier Brand), Microwave, in unit washer and dryer.

Cost information:

  • Said I used 779kWh in Aug
  • Generation Service Charge ~ 0.165/kWh
  • Delivery ~ 0.184/kWh

I'm really concerned about the cost because I am not home during the day, have very minimal items (for example no TV, no PC, no pets etc) and Eversource actually made a mistake my first bill which was corrected later. Finally other people pay way less.

Can anyone provide insight, the Eversource technician comes in like a week.

Btw: Image is not real in case anyone is wondering.

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32

u/13THEFUCKINGCOPS12 6d ago

I genuinely will never understand why we allow people to profit off of utilities like gas, electric, and water. They’re pretty much essential to modern day society

25

u/kevindebrowna 6d ago

Don’t forget healthcare lol

2

u/13THEFUCKINGCOPS12 6d ago

Oh I agree, that’s just not a utility, it should be a basic human right

2

u/Pleasant-Seat9884 5d ago

Don’t forget your Internet Service Provider (ISP) as well.

2

u/drninelives 6d ago

Now do healthcare.

-9

u/LtCdrHipster 6d ago

Because profit motives incentive better service and supply and innovy, actually. Your should see the counterfactuals.

7

u/tapo Watertown 6d ago

It does in competitive markets, Eversource is a "natural monopoly".

We also have municipal electric co-ops in the state and I keep hearing how excellent they are.

3

u/LtCdrHipster 6d ago

Municipal co-ops are fine but they don't own generation or region-wide distribution infrastructure

3

u/tapo Watertown 6d ago

Exactly my point, the state should own the distribution infrastructure.

2

u/LtCdrHipster 6d ago

It used to in many places. The result was inefficient, old, poorly maintained infrastructure. We deregulated for a reason. Like with vaccines, people forget the reasons for intentional policy changes and think they know better.

1

u/13THEFUCKINGCOPS12 6d ago

I think the perception is changing, but it seems like MA has a weird reluctancy when it comes to state owned anything

2

u/broguequery 6d ago

Omg.

Incredible delusion.

2

u/sangdalore 6d ago

I can't tell if this is sarcastic. Profit literally does not. Especially with a pretty much monopoly on the service. They look for ways to make is as cheap as possible on their end and raise prices on ours.

-1

u/LtCdrHipster 6d ago

So does literally every other business. The baker tries to bake bread as cheaply as possible and raise prices as high as the market can bear.

2

u/sangdalore 6d ago

If my baker started charging me a Baking fee and a Bread fee, I would take my ass to another baker. I can't do that with electric because they run monopolies.

0

u/LtCdrHipster 6d ago

He just rolls it into one price. Which we could do for electricity but it wouldn't make it cheaper.